Archives for 2026

Sarah Longwell: “Last week we assembled a focus group of Republicans who voted for President Trump in both 2020 and 2024, and who, except for some local elections, voted straight-ticket Republican in this year’s midterms.”

“In my conversation with these voters, one thing became abundantly clear in their cacophony of cope: They were not blaming Trump. Instead, they were blaming the GOP candidates on the ticket for being terrible. They were blaming social media for pushing Trump Derangement Syndrome. And they were blaming their fellow Americans, who they insisted were just too brainwashed and emotional to just hold their noses and vote for the terrible candidates that Republicans offered them.”

Bruce Mehlman: “For months every indicator flashed ‘big blue wave.’ If anything, they undersold it.”

“The next two years will be the most disruptive and unpredictable in modern memory. Business will be squeezed between a still-powerful Executive Branch it must work with and an electorally-emboldened Congress determined to find and expose corruption. Both parties face early, bruising and drawn-out presidential primaries pitting populists against more mainstream contenders.”

“And all this while AI transforms everything at accelerating speed and new forces reshape the world order in real time.”

Ronald Brownstein: “From the weakest to the strongest Republican candidates, from purple to ruby-red terrain, hardly anyone in the GOP escaped untouched by last week’s ferocious roar from American voters.”

“It was a night when, to paraphrase the Bible, the electoral rain fell on the just and the unjust alike.”

“Tactical campaign decisions and financial advantages, or even candidate quality cannot explain movement of this magnitude and consistency; change this big flows only from a current broad and deep enough to cut through the entire country.”

Karen Tumulty: “Your calendar says there are still almost two months to go in 2026. But according to the biorhythms of politics, the 2028 presidential season is already upon us.”

“With no White House incumbent on the ballot, bitterly fought primary contests — something party elders usually dread and sometimes tinker with their rules to avoid — could be in the offing for Democrats and Republicans.”

“Many argue it would be not only a healthy exercise, but a necessary one.”

Said David Axelrod: “I have never felt more strongly that we need these primaries. Primaries are the way we prod and poke and test people who are applying for the hardest job in the world.”

“Ambitious Republicans were already sizing up JD Vance ahead of the 2028 presidential primary. Tuesday night’s GOP bludgeoning has only emboldened some of them,” the Washington Post reports.

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis embarked on a media blitz in recent days as he prepares a potential run, according to three people briefed on his plans. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is weighing a bid, said a person with knowledge of his plans. And Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is planning to work with longtime consultant Jeff Roe of Axiom Strategies if he enters the race.”